Sometimes life demands a certain clinical decisiveness. In last week’s reading, this need for decisiveness was exacerbated by the heightened tensions that came to the fore in both sibling and marital rivalries. Sarah saw conflict on the horizon with her handmaiden, Hagar (aka, Keturah), vying for power in the family lineage through her son, Ishmael, […] http://bethsholomsf.org/chayai-sarah-genesis-231-2518-3/Continue Reading...

To reach the place of infinite earthly delight – that is the true destination of almost any traveler. The essentials that were once needed for any journey and are nowadays taken for granted appear to be alluded to in this week’s reading. “Abraham planted a tamarisk [eshel] at Be’er Sheva and invoked the divine name there […] http://bethsholomsf.org/vayeira-genesis-1812-224/Continue Reading...

Henry Hollander, leader of our CBS Talmud shiur (study or lesson), is contributing regular blog posts that explore the Talmud, thus providing members of the community who can not participate in the Tuesday night sessions with a taste of the wonder and complexity the Talmud offers. CHAPTER THREE of his exploration appears just below. You […] http://bethsholomsf.org/what-is-talmud-study-chapter-three/Continue Reading...

What was the nature of the blindness that Isaac succumbed to later in life? Commenting on Genesis 27:1 (“When Isaac was old his eyes were too dim to see“), Rashi suggests something subtle: “When Isaac was bound to the altar and his father wanted to slaughter him, at that moment, the heavens opened up and […] http://bethsholomsf.org/toldot-genesis-2519-289-2/Continue Reading...

Are there consequences to our actions? Do our relationships reflect the consequences of our choices? The choice made last week by Abraham to nearly sacrifice Isaac has profound consequences upon the matriarch, Sarah. The rabbinic exegesis (Pirkai d’Rabbi Eliezer 32) captures this trauma well: “When Abraham came from Mount Moriah, Samael [Satan] was furious that […] http://bethsholomsf.org/chayai-sarah-genesis-231-2518-2/Continue Reading...

My name is Sabina Lyon-Freedman, and I’m in the 7th grade at Roosevelt Middle School. I enjoy playing violin, baking, acting, reading, watching movies, writing novels and poems, spending time with friends (including some of my best friends at Beth Sholom), and petting my cat, Buster. For my bat mitzvah this coming Shabbat, I will […] http://bethsholomsf.org/sabina-freedmans-bat-mitzvah/Continue Reading...

How many trials must we overcome in life? Abraham is said to have overcome ten trials. Notice the way language links them: “Go…to the land I shall show” (Genesis 12:1) to “Sacrifice your son on one of the mountains I shall show you” (Genesis 22:2). Clearly then, Lech Lecha last week is linked with Vayeira […] http://bethsholomsf.org/vayeira-genesis-181-2224-2/Continue Reading...

We move from the displacement associated with the Tower of Babel at the end of last week’s reading to even deeper displacement this week as the Torah introduces us to the journey of Abram and Sarai. Their leaving home can be thought of as the setting of a tripwire, a process of setting in motion […] http://bethsholomsf.org/lech-lecha-genesis-121-1727-2/Continue Reading...

Rabbi Glazer will present a talk entitled Religion after Religio: Unbinding the Binding of Isaac, Jesus Christ, & Joan of Arc through Zen on Monday, April 4, at 7 p.m., in the Board Room. His presentation considers how religion binds “the finite to the infinite, revelation to reason, matter to ghost” by focusing on the […] http://bethsholomsf.org/religion-after-religio/Continue Reading...